Photo by Chrysalis Architecture

Every city has places that serve as a reminder to some of its darker points in history and New York City is no exception. Untapped Cities regularly features parts of the city that could be considered “dark tourism” – or visiting places associated with death, suffering or disaster.

On Wednesday, October 26th, join Untapped Cities founder Michelle Young and bioethicist Elizabeth Yuko in the panel discussion “Let’s Get Ethical” on dark tourism at Q.E.D. in Astoria, Queens at 7:30 p.m. The event will begin with a brief lecture on Lizzie Borden and her former home, which is now a museum and bed & breakfast, followed by a conversation on the ethics of dark tourism. Tickets are $6 and on sale now.

To get a taste of what is considered dark tourism, here are a few places previously featured in Untapped Cities that fall under this category:

1. Hart Island


Hart Island isn’t just home to New York’s potter’s field (mass burial ground for the city) maintained by inmates from Rikers Island, but is also home to an array of abandoned buildings. We recently had a chance to step on the island – check out that experience here, then read about 10 of the island’s secrets.